IOGKF Newsletter

December 2012

Interview with Sensei Paolo Spongia – IOGKF Italy

It might seem an obvious and “advertising” question but I think
that it is a fundamental quotation.

However, I would like to advise at once that Karate-Do is for
everybody and for no one.

That is to say that, definitely, the practice of Karate-Do
offers, in its most complete sense, an infinite range of
instruments and learning experiences, which, taught wisely by an
experienced teacher, could allow any person at any age to reach
the maximum of both their psychophysical and moral potential.

Yet, as any respectable art, Karate-Do requires sincere
dedication, especially after a certain level of learning has
been attained. It means that Karate-Do should become the
foundation of one’s life, with its principles transferred
effectively into daily life.

With the word “dedication”, I do not mean a single-theme mania.
On the contrary, those who know me are well aware that my
“model” Karate-Do teacher is not only a specialist in kicks and
punches but a complete person in any sphere of the life, who is
able to grasp the principles of the art and to apply them to
every moment of ordinary life.

And still, one must get deeply into the study of the Discipline
offering it the necessary time, passion and commitment;
otherwise the results will only be limited, as in any art.

Everybody likes to say that they practice “the art of Karate”
but any respectable art requires enthusiasm, dedication and
discipline, as well as creativity and intuition (which,
ironically, are precisely the result of the discipline), or else
Karate-Do may become, at best, a hobby like many others, with
much weaker effects indeed, in some cases, deleterious effects,
due to the dangerous hobby like and disengaged attitude, which
is common these days, lies at the root of numerous diseases of
our society.

To complete my answer: the sea is immense, but if you approach
it with a spoon, you will get only a tablespoon of water...

Let me add a comment on the training of children, which for me
is a separate chapter.

Training involving children must have a enjoyable approach.

Precisely, it is necessary to develop every movement and
psychological characteristic of the child, offering him/her the
means for an adequate growth and, at the same time, making the
best use of educational, mythical and symbolic tools, which are
provided to us by our discipline and which speak deeply to a
child's psyche.

I
am against some “sport oriented” approaches that have purged
these precious elements off the Karate-Do for children, turning
it into a dull sporting game deprived of all its mythical and
symbolic potential.

Newbushido:
When and why did you start practicing Karate-Do?

Sensei
Spongia:

I started when I was 13.

I had played tennis
since the age of seven and discovered Karate, as it often
happens, because of a friend, who had already been practicing
and who led me to attend a lesson... it was like an electric
shock, I still remember the smell of the Dojo, it felt like to
be back home again.

For a couple of years
more, I was training in the Dojo and still playing tennis at a
competitive level, and then, by the age of 15, I had to decide
which way my energy should be directed, and I had no doubts in
choosing Karate-Do; I felt that it could offer me more, as it
further did, to become a man; well more than scoring a point by
hitting a ball over a net.

I chose Karate-Do
because I realized that I could take it with me into my everyday
life instead of having an experience limited to the tennis
court.

Newbushido:
Among Karate styles,
Goju-Ryu is maybe the most traditional one, rooted deeply in the
island of Okinawa. Which are the main differences with the other
Karate styles?

Sensei
Spongia:

Honestly, I would refrain from comparing their qualities.

I
believe, I know my style well enough but I do not have
sufficient knowledge of other styles to be able to discuss them.

The Karate-Do, which was imported to and spread in Japan, has
undoubtedly undergone significant changes, as compared to the
original Okinawan Karate, both in terms of technique and style,
as well as in terms of its goals.

Sports development then did the rest.

I
think it does not make sense any more to talk about styles in
sport karate.

The same Goju-ryu has undergone a dramatic transformation on its
way from Okinawa to Japan, in so much that some training methods
have been completely abandoned and the same Kata have been
modified significantly.

I
think that a style practiced with proper dedication and under a
competent teacher should be able to ensure an effective system
tested by the long-term experience that comes from a lineage of
Masters.

A
style must be “effective”, and by this term I do not only mean
its effectiveness in a fight, which is certainly an essential
aspect, but also the efficiency of energetic and psychophysical
development, which would ensure well being of the person
practicing the style.

In short, one should reap the benefits and see the exact results
of his/her training both in terms of combat performance and well
being.

Otherwise, one’s way will be fraught with all those aberrations
that make one’s search for well being through lax and
comfortable exercise to the satisfaction of public demand, and
this, in my opinion, apart from bringing a temporary relief,
appears utterly ineffective for deep and lasting training and
benefits. Or in the case one seeks the notorious combat
“efficiency”, may ensure in some, rare cases are a certain
short-term effectiveness, which will inevitably plummet with age
leaving behind a broken body.

Too often do we see planting on of dubious products, a medley of
techniques and exercises without any connection between them.

Before discovering the Goju-Ryu of Higaonna Sensei, even though
I was training very hard just as I do now, I had been plagued by
many doubts because I had not been able to reap the promised
benefits to see the concrete results corresponding to my
efforts, and so I had kept on searching and searching until I
met my Master, Higaonna sensei, who dispelled my every doubt.

The Goju-Ryu that I practice, I believe it is a complete style
in the fullest sense of the word. All forms of exercise we
employ, from Junbi Undo to Hojo Undo, from Kakie to Irikumi,
from Kata to Bunkai, etc., lead us at the final result: the
complete development of the practitioner both from the point of
view of martial or fighting skills, as well as psychophysical
training and well being.

If you neglect even one aspect of the training, the final result
will be far different.